This is a sports biopic of swimmer Trudy Ederle (Daisy Ridley). She is born in 1905 to a German immigrant family in New York City. She and older sister Meg (Tilda Cobham-Hervey) want to swim, but good girls are not supposed to swim at this time. She excels and gets invited to the 1924 Paris Olympics. It goes poorly and her family pressures her to quit. She sets out to swim the English Channel. Bill Burgess (Stephen Graham) is the second man to achieve the feat.
This is a very standard old fashion inspirational sports movie. It follows the formula well with some nice touches. Daisy Ridley is in her comfort zone from Rey to this. She is the plucky underdog pretty skinny girl. It's fine for this film, but it is limiting her. For example, she can be insistent, but she cannot be the vociferous agitator. That would have put off some people. Also, the closing credit has the real Trudy and she is built like a wrestler. She is not a skinny thing like Daisy Ridley. There are also other alterations like the fact that she did win an Olympic gold medal in the relay. That one surprised me a little although it would change the premise a little. The best aspect is the sisters' relationship. Ultimately, this is well-made and hits all the right notes.
This is a very standard old fashion inspirational sports movie. It follows the formula well with some nice touches. Daisy Ridley is in her comfort zone from Rey to this. She is the plucky underdog pretty skinny girl. It's fine for this film, but it is limiting her. For example, she can be insistent, but she cannot be the vociferous agitator. That would have put off some people. Also, the closing credit has the real Trudy and she is built like a wrestler. She is not a skinny thing like Daisy Ridley. There are also other alterations like the fact that she did win an Olympic gold medal in the relay. That one surprised me a little although it would change the premise a little. The best aspect is the sisters' relationship. Ultimately, this is well-made and hits all the right notes.